World News - Sex offender, 29, posed as seventh-grader in Arizona school

A youthful-looking sex offender who enrolled in a charter school northwest of Phoenix spent one day in the seventh grade while pretending to be a 12-year-old boy, school officials said Monday.The Mingus Springs Charter School in Chino Valley, about 90 miles northwest of Phoenix, allowed Neil Havens Rodreick II into school last week. But director Dawn Gonzales said officials called authorities when a man posing as his grandfather presented guardianship papers and a birth certificate that looked phony."We thought we had a child abduction here," Gonzales said.The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office later arrested Rodreick, who is actually 29. The man posing as Rodreick's grandfather, Lonnie Stiffler, 61, also was arrested with two other men, Brian J. Nellis, 34, and Robert James Snow, 43.... http://www.usatoday.com

Protesters bent on toppling Lebanon's cabinet blocked roads with blazing tires on Tuesday, sparking clashes with government loyalists in which three people were killed and more than 110 people hurt, police said.The violence raised the stakes in a campaign by Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah and its Shi'ite and Christian allies to oust Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's Western-supported government. Siniora, a Sunni Muslim, vowed to stand firm. "We will stay together against intimidation. We will stand together against strife," he said in a televised speech. "Today's general strike turned into actions and harassment that overstepped all limits and rekindled memories of times of strife, war and hegemony," Siniora said. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2815928

An e-mail exchange interpreted by backers of the military as an affront to U.S. troops in Iraq has brought a deluge of criticism to a local company after circulating across the Internet. As of Monday night, the Web site for Bargain Suppliers, which sells various types of mats, had only a message saying it was experiencing "technical difficulties" and advising customers to contact the firm via telephone or e-mail. The incident started when someone identifying himself as Sgt. Jason Hess of the Army's 1st Cavalry Division sent the firm an e-mail asking if it ships to military (APO) addresses, which many firms do not. Someone sent a response saying no but adding, "even if we did, we would NEVER ship to Iraq. If you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out of Iraq." ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/23/national/main2388167.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._2388167

Americans flying to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean made sure to bring their passports Monday because of a new rule going into effect Tuesday that requires them to show one to get back into the country. Only about a quarter of U.S. citizens hold valid passports, and most Americans are accustomed to traveling to neighboring countries with just a driver's license or birth certificate, which have long been sufficient to get through airport customs on the trip home. The new regulations requiring passports were adopted by Congress in 2004 to secure the borders against terrorists. Travelers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and other airports said they had no complaints about the requirement. "I'd rather be going through a security check, than possibly being blown out of the air because of lack of security measures," John Golden of Columbus, Ga., who was headed to Cancun, Mexico...http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NEW_PASSPORT_RULES?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

Congressional Republicans pushed back Monday against Bush's decision to increase troop strength in Iraq, some voicing opposition while others urged holding the administration and Iraqi government more accountable for the war effort. "We've had four other surges since we first went into Iraq," said Sen. Susan Collins (news, bio, voting record), referring to the administration's plan for an additional 21,500 troops. "None of them produced a long-lasting change in the situation on the ground."So I am very skeptical that this surge would produce the desired outcome," said the Maine Republican.In the Senate, Collins joined two Republicans and one Democrat to unveil nonbinding legislation expressing disagreement with Bush's plan. The president should consider "all options and alternatives" involving a smaller force, the measure said....http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070122/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq

President Jimmy Carter has defended his book Palestine: Peace not Apartheid after a barrage of criticism that it was unfair on Israel, saying it has not weakened his resolve for fair treatment of Israelis and Palestinians. "I have been called a liar," Mr Carter said at a town hall meeting on Saturday, the second day of a three-day symposium on his presidency at Georgia university. "I have been called an anti-semite, I have been called a bigot. I have been called a plagiarist. I have been called a coward. Those kind of accusations, they concern me, but they don't detract from the fact the book is accurate and is needed." After the book's publication 14 members of an advisory board to his Carter Centre resigned in protest, arguing that the book was unfairly critical of Israel. "Not one of the critics of my book has contradicted any of the basic premises ... that is the horrible persecution and oppression of the Palestinian people and secondly ...http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1995642,00.html